It may be too early to say what I'm about to say (because I haven't baked anything from it yet), but I think Tartine, by Elisabeth Prueitt and Chad Robertson, based on recipes used in their amazing San Francisco bakery, is easily the best baking book I've read in years. This cookbook cries out to be used and abused, not put up on the shelf or stored under glass - it looks like a textbook, feels like a textbook, and has a minimum of uberporny food photography. Although Alice Waters' introduction is as self-serving and full of nods to her own exquisite taste and experience as one would expect, it is unintentionally funny. Here's an example:
"At the time I was summering in the fog of Bolinas, a seaside village not far from Point Reyes Station, where I was reading a wonderful memoir, Life a la Henri, by the French Chef Henri Charpentier. I was so caught up in Charpentier's vivid descriptions....that I couldn't help drawing negative comparisons between the food of then and now. But I made an immediate exception for Liz and Chad's bakery."
Hey Liz and Chad - good news. Alice liked you from the start. But not only did Alice like you, but "The Japanese Designer Eiko" did as well (funny how Ms. Waters drops "Eiko" as if she were a household name). When they visited Liz and Chad's bakery, stacked with just-made treats, Ms Waters further remarks, "[t]he whole magic tableau said everything that needs to be said about food and the joy of living." Did she mean the joy of living as expressed through food, or food, period, and the joy of living, period? To me they are linked, but one is not the total of the other.
My favorite line from the introductions a terrible cliche, but rather true in the context of Tartine, the bakery:
"...Tartine is about as authentic - and indispensable - as a bakery and cafe can get. No wonder people are still lining up."
I have been to Tartine. I have lined up in the morning with sleepy denizens of the Mission to pick up a bag of fresh croissants and gougeres and grab my cappuccino, extra dry. And everything I have ever had there has been excellent. On a visit to a vendor in the Bay Area who is helping our company to develop some new products, they served us a breakfast spread of quiches, tarts, croissants, gougeres and other treats exclusively from Tartine. They thought the world of Tartine. So do I. But in no way does my bias toward their bakery taint my perspective on the cookbook. This is a great cookbook, and if you buy any baking book this year, Tartine should be it.
As a cookbook, Tartine is easy to use. Measurements are in grams, imperial, and American volume - so they are easy to execute at home or scale up in a professional kitchen. Recipes are laid out in a linear form, top to bottom, so they are very easy to read. For novice bakers, the recipes may be a little less clear; although written well, they are not numbered and in many cases, small steps may take an entire paragraph of instructions.
But I assure you, if you can replicate Tartine's recipes at home, you will be very happy you took the time to read the entire recipe.
There's nothing folksy about this cookbook. It is a serious baking book with detailed recipes for croissants, brioche, scones, cakes, quiches, tarts, cookies, custards, and bakery basics. Page after page is pure alchemy. Before each recipe is a brief explanation of the recipe and its provenance as well as a kitchen note that provides the home cook for a little advice about the execution of the recipe or the process.
There's nothing really 'innovative' or new about the recipes as they are all variations on the classics. But the range of recipes (really all the home cook needs to be considered an excellent and proficient pastry cook), along with the occasional photo, detailed instructions, easy-to-read ingredients, and helpful kitchen notes makes this a cookbook worth buying. I can't say it enough -- if you don't already, you need to own this cookbook.
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